Pa amb tomaquet
Encyclopedia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, Majorca, the Land of Valencia and in some other places that were at some point under the domain of the Crown of Aragon
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
, such as Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.
Pa amb tomàquet or pa amb oli consists of bread
Bread
Bread is a staple food prepared by cooking a dough of flour and water and often additional ingredients. Doughs are usually baked, but in some cuisines breads are steamed , fried , or baked on an unoiled frying pan . It may be leavened or unleavened...
— optionally toasted — with tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
rubbed over and seasoned with olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
and salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
. Sometimes garlic
Garlic
Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Dating back over 6,000 years, garlic is native to central Asia, and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent...
is rubbed on the bread before rubbing in the tomato. In many Catalan restaurants, the tomato mixture is pre-made and is brushed on the bread. The dish is served accompanied with any sorts of sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
s (cured botifarres
Botifarra
Botifarra is a type of sausage and one of the most important dishes of the Catalan cuisine.It comes in different versions, some of the most representative are:...
, xoriço
Chorizo
Chorizo is a term encompassing several types of pork sausages originating from the Iberian Peninsula.In English, it is usually pronounced , , or , but sometimes ....
, fuet
Fuet
Fuet is a Catalan thin, cured, dry sausage of pork meat in a pork gut. The most famous is made in the comarca of Osona and is also known as Vic fuet . Other places that have long tradition of making it are the city of Olot and the surrounding zones....
, etc.), ham, cheese
Cheese
Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....
s, anchovies
Anchovy
Anchovies are a family of small, common salt-water forage fish. There are 144 species in 17 genera, found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Anchovies are usually classified as an oily fish.-Description:...
or other marinated fish, or grilled vegetables like escalivada
Escalivada
Escalivada is a typical preparation of Catalan cuisine that consists of several types of grilled vegetables, such as eggplants , sweet red peppers , red tomatoes , and sweet onions...
.
In Majorca, pa amb oli is prepeared with tomato called Tomàtiga de Ramellet, which is a specifical variety of tomatoes on the vine, smaller and with a little bit more intense and sourer taste than normal tomatoes.
The original base used to be made with toasted slices of pa de pagès ('peasants' bread'), a typical round piece of wheat bread of a fair size (from ½ kg to 5 kg, from some 20 cm to 50 cm in diameter).
If the mixture is not premade, there is said to be an ideal order in which the ingredients are integrated to yield the best flavour. First, the garlic is rubbed on the bread. Then the same is done with the tomato. Next comes the salt, and lastly the olive oil. The traditional way to get all the flavours mixed well without having to premake a sauce, is to cut off the heel of a baguette and use it to gently but firmly press all of the ingredients together.
History
The origin of this dish is disputed, as tomato is relatively new to Catalan cuisine (it came from America only after the 15th century). Widely regarded as the epitomeEpitome
An epitome is a summary or miniature form; an instance that represents a larger reality, also used as a synonym for embodiment....
of Catalan cuisine and identity, some sources claim it is actually a relatively recent (mid to late 19th century) in all the Mediterranean coast of Spain.
The dish shares some similarities with the tomato and olive oil rubbed Ħobż biz-Zejt
Maltese bread
Ħobż tal-Malti is a crusty sourdough bread from Malta, usually baked in wood ovens.Although it can be eaten as accompaniment to food and with a variety of fillings, the typical and favourite way to eat it is as Ħobż biż-żejt, where the bread is rubbed with tomatoes or tomato paste, drizzled with...
sandwich of the island of Malta, with the Pan-bagnat
Pan-bagnat
The Pan-bagnat is a sandwich that is a speciality of the region of Nice, France. The sandwich is composed of a circle formed white bread around the classic Salade Niçoise, a salad composed mainly of raw vegetables, hard boiled eggs, anchovies and/or tuna, and olive oil. The name of the sandwich...
of Nice, in the Provence region of France and the tomato topped version of Italian
Italian cuisine
Italian cuisine has developed through centuries of social and political changes, with roots as far back as the 4th century BCE. Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish and Arab cuisines...
bruschetta
Bruschetta
Bruschetta is an antipasto from Italy whose origin dates to at least the 15th century. It consists of roasted bread rubbed with garlic and topped with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper...
.